Report: Kidnapped American Sailors Released After Ransom Paid

C-Escort, owned by Edison Chouest Offshore of Cut Off, La., is a sistership to the C-Retriever. American crew from the C-Retriever were kidnapped by Nigerian pirates on Oct. 23, 2013.

The two American sailors that were kidnapped on Oct. 23 off the coast of Nigeria have been returned, according several news reports.

“We welcome the release of the two U.S. citizens who were kidnapped from the M/V C-Retriever. For privacy reasons, we will not provide any additional information,” according to a statement from the U.S. State Department provided to the gCaptain maritime news service.

According to a report from Fox News, the sailors — believed to be the captain and chief engineer of the ship — were released after an unspecified ransom was paid.

The State Department added in its statement, “it is the policy of the United States not to pay ransom or encourage the payment of ransom money,”
State Department officials did not indicate who or what the organization paid the ransom.

Ships underway in areas prone to kidnapping and piracy often carry so-called kidnapping and ransom insurance in the event of an incident.

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About Sam LaGrone

Sam LaGrone is the editor of USNI News. He was formerly the U.S. Maritime Correspondent for the Washington D.C. bureau of Jane’s Defence Weekly and Jane’s Navy International. He has covered legislation, acquisition and operations for the Sea Services and spent time underway with the U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps and the Canadian Navy.

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Hope no ransom was payed but i fear it is a forlorn hope since Nations too quickly pay ransom to kidnapers in Nigeria. What, may i ask, lies behind this unseemly haste to hand out ransom to these people. Well, in the absence of answers, speculations grow.There are some who now speculate that ransom paid to these kidnapers in Nigeria is simply a subversive means of facilitating terrorism and unrest in Nigeria. In other words, the West is deliberately funding terrorism and unrest in Nigeria.

WolfNippleChips

Identify the location of the pirates and drone them back to the stone ages.
Stop using drones to spy on America and use them to rid the world of criminal menaces.